Social Drinking Excellence: Richard Fleeger

This one comes straight from Glitter's neck of the woods. I thought we might get through the whole month of May without a Rummy Award candidate being brought past my desk. It appears I was wrong. TJ with the great assist.

From WPXI.com:

KITTANNING, Pa. -- Police said a man may be charged with driving under the influence after falling asleep while waiting for food at a Kittanning McDonald's drive-through.

Investigators said Richard Fleeger, 23, fell asleep behind the wheel early Sunday morning. State police said McDonald's employees called 911 after customers complained that the line was not moving.

Fleeger failed a field sobriety test and was driven home by a relative, according to police. Investigators said Fleeger may face DUI charges pending the results of a toxicology test.

*sigh*

My thoughts:

1. Was a field sobriety test even necessary? He was in a McDonald's drive-through after midnight on a Saturday night. That pretty much guarantees you to be over the legal limit. They could've brought in a paddywagon and thrown everyone in that line in the drunk tank.

2. That being said, I'm hesitant to cast Mr. Fleeger as the villain here. Sure, he was driving drunk, and that alone deserves punishment. But maybe his act of dozing off was actually just one of sacrifice. Maybe he risked his own freedom to save that of the drivers behind him. His slumber surely distracted the police from doing anything more than glancing through the windshields of other vehicles where the occupants were still upright and moving.
3. There didn't seem to be any passengers in Fleeger's car. But, given that it was Saturday night, I would say it's highly unlikely that he had gotten so drunk all alone. Given those two pieces of information, it seems quite possible that he was, in fact, making a Mickey D's run for his friends. Imagine just how upset they were when, after quite a bit of waiting for their Angus burgers, they got a phone call asking them to pick him up...without the food. He avoided prison, but there's still a good chance he got his ass whooped when he got home.

Richard, your Rummy is in the mail. You'll find compartments in the base filled with Barbecue and Sweet & Sour sauces for your McNuggets.